HISTORY AND ESTHETICS IN CONCRETE ARCH BRIDGES

The paper describes some problems in the history of reinforced concrete arch bridges by focusing on the three types of analyses, central to the understanding of any structural form, and consisting of the scientific to get at structural behavior, the economical to get at the construction cost, and the esthetic to get at ideas of appropriate visual form. The scientific analyses included questions of hinges, and of the participation of decks in arch bending. The economical questions centered on the extent to which designers understood construction practice; many early designers were also involved directly with construction. Finally the questions of appearance were debated frequently in terms both of cooperation with architects and of the propriety of applied decoration versus pure structural form. /Author/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Presented at ASCE Annual Convention and Exposition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 27-October, 1976.
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  345 East 47th Street
  New York, NY  United States  10017-2398
• Authors:
  • Billington, D P
• Publication Date: 1977-11

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 2129-43
• Serial:
  • Journal of the Structural Division
  • Volume: 103
  • Issue Number: ST11
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Aesthetics; Arch bridges; Bending; Bridge decks; Bridge design; Bridges; Construction; Costs; Hinges; Reinforced concrete bridges; Structural design; Structural engineering
• Uncontrolled Terms: Construction costs
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Finance; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00168428
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: ASCE 13351 Proceeding
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Feb 16 1978 12:00AM